Caped wonders with super powers have been created throughout history during times when people were in dire need of "heroes". They could fly or do a Houdini from the arch-rival's snare. But, these heroes stay on the comic book (or the silver screen). Hence, we in the real world face challenges ourselves--sans super powers. Whether it's families breaking apart or declining literacy in the country, it is we who answer the call from where we are, with what we have.

Friday, May 06, 2011

Life around the world in 5 headlines

Here's a look around the world without leaving your living room (or wherever you are as you read this). In just five stories one gets a picture of the varied perspectives on the value of a human being's life. There's more good news than bad here; fortunately, there's always hope as long as one is alive! But one sure can see red sometimes, especially when getting news of the latest scheming measures that a certain global organization is up to again.

So, how's life around the world? Get a glimpse from these excerpts (followed by links to the full articles):

They direct their book to those who, having received a devastating diagnosis, have decided, or are still in the process of deciding, to continue their pregnancy knowing that their baby’s life is expected to be brief. Yet their positive and encouraging approach to these heartbreaking realities paint the choice of abortion as a sad mistake and a missed opportunity for emotional growth and healing......Because of the shared pain, courage, faith, and, often, wisdom of the mothers and fathers who relate their experiences, any reader can achieve a better understanding of what it means to be a mother and a father:

“As a mother, I have always felt that it was my job to identify what my children need and give it to them. Sometimes those needs are simple and straightforward–clean laundry, a healthy meal, a hand to cross the street safely. Maggie’s needs were not like those of my sons. She needed us to give her a safe and peaceful transition from one world to the next. Carrying Maggie to term did that for me–it gave me the opportunity to ‘mother’ her until she didn’t need me anymore.” ~ Alessandra (p. 345)

"A Gift of Time: Continuing your pregnancy when your baby's life is expected to be brief" at MercatorNet

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Roger Kiska of the European Center for Law and Justice said he was “overjoyed” by the new Hungarian constitution, calling it a victory for democracy, for life and the family, and for Hungary. Kiska said he found “shameful” the attempts by the European institutions to undermine the Hungarian government, a government overwhelmingly approved by popular electoral vote. “I hope that Hungary stays strong in its convictions because what is at stake, life and the family, are too high a price to pay simply to appease the bureaucrats in Brussels.”

"New Hungarian Constitution recognizing life 'from conception' signed into law" at LifeSiteNews

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The UN is about to ask governments to fund the vaccination of every girl in the world against the sexually transmitted disease HPV, human papillomavirus. The controversial campaign could cost as much as $300 per person, totaling billions.

Dignitaries who launched the campaign at the UN in mid-April included a prominent African first lady, leaders from the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the American Cancer Society, and the contraceptives manufacturer PATH.

This is disgusting. CBSLA News has glorified an elderly woman selling suicide kits as “death with dignity.” From “91-Year-Old Grandma Sells Suicide Kits To Help Terminally Ill Die With Dignity”:

Meet Sharlotte. Like a lot of grandmothers, she likes to keep busy. But while some grannies sit and knit scarves and afghans, this 91-year-old has a decidedly different hobby. She makes suicide masks… Sharlotte, who sells her controversial kits for $60, demonstrated how they work in front of our cameras......Opponents to changing the law point to one of Sharlotte’s clients, a 29-year-old Oregon native. He wasn’t suffering from a terminal illness. He opted out because he was tired of dealing with his chronic depression. His suicide touched off a major controversy. And now, a group called Californians Against Assisted Suicide wants to stop Sharlotte and her masks.

The meeting between the 7-year-old boy and the 31-year-old man began awkwardly, as meetings of strangers often do. But then young Jacob Kowalik sized up the adult, and began to drop his guard.

They played tic-tac-toe. They talked about hockey. Jacob and his parents invited Marshal Davis to their house for pizza, Jacob's favorite meal.

There also was a gift, a husky dog stuffed animal, though it wasn't for young Jacob. It was FROM him, a small token of thanks to this man who'd given Jacob a gift that the boy was too young to fully understand.

2 comments:

I just realized -- what I misleading title I put there, haha! I had come across several news and feature stories concerning people in Asia and Africa, and originally planned to include them here. Then I changed my mind. Why? They are very depressing news :-(((

Hence, my "around the world" became "around the US" except for the bit about Hungary.